Getting an Azure-Core error 401 Unauthorized message

Question

Getting an Azure-Core error 401 Unauthorized message

Falanga, Rod, DOH 245

I've been following this tutorial on how to use secrets stored in Azure Key Vault. Previously I created an Azure Key Vault manually, but in this case, I created it using Key Vault access policy, not Azure RBAC. Looking at the code from that tutorial I realize that much of it would rely on Azure RBAC, so I got rid of most of it, using only the retrieval portion. Here's my code (with sensitive information withheld):

using
using
using

The error occurs on the client.GetSecretAsync line. However, I'm wondering if the problem might lie with the instantiation of the client; specifically, with "new DefaultAzureCredential()"? I'm wondering if that default Azure credential is for Azure RBAC and not Key Vault access policy?

Falanga, Rod, DOH 245 Reputation points

2024-02-28T21:44:14.53+00:00

Why didn't this keep the code I pasted in?
Falanga, Rod, DOH 245 Reputation points

2024-02-28T21:45:22.5033333+00:00
I'm going to try to paste in the C# code again:

using using using

Falanga, Rod, DOH 245

WOW!! This editor is EXTREMELY IRRITATING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'll try Markdown instead:

using Azure.Core.Diagnostics;
using Azure.Identity;
using Azure.Security.KeyVault.Secrets;

namespace key_vault_console_app
{
    internal class Program
    {
        static async Task Main(string[] args)
        {
            const string secretName = "SampleSecretName";
            var keyVaultName = "XXXXXX";
            var kvUri = $"https://{keyVaultName}.vault.azure.net";
            string lastPlace = string.Empty;

            // Setup a listener to monitor logged events.
            using AzureEventSourceListener listener = AzureEventSourceListener.CreateConsoleLogger();

            DefaultAzureCredentialOptions options = new DefaultAzureCredentialOptions()
            {
                Diagnostics =
                    {
                        LoggedHeaderNames = { "x-ms-request-id" },
                        LoggedQueryParameters = { "api-version" },
                        IsLoggingContentEnabled = true
                    }
            };

            try
            {
                // Here's the code to read one of my keys.
                lastPlace = "Create SecretClient";
                var client = new SecretClient(new Uri(kvUri), new DefaultAzureCredential());

                const string otherSecretName = "ConsoleConnectionString";
                lastPlace = "Trying to Retrieve secret";
                Console.WriteLine($"Retrieving your secret from {keyVaultName}.");
                var secret = await client.GetSecretAsync(otherSecretName);
                Console.WriteLine($"Your secret is '{secret.Value.Value}'.");


                Console.WriteLine(" done.");
            }
            catch (Exception ex)
            {
                await Console.Out.WriteLineAsync($"Trying to {lastPlace}");
                await Console.Out.WriteLineAsync(ReportExceptions.ReportThisException(ex));
                return;
            }



        }
    }
}

2 answers

Your answer

Falanga, Rod, DOH 245 Reputation points

2024-02-28T21:44:14.53+00:00

Why didn't this keep the code I pasted in?
Falanga, Rod, DOH 245 Reputation points

2024-02-28T21:45:22.5033333+00:00

I'm going to try to paste in the C# code again:

using using using
Falanga, Rod, DOH 245 Reputation points

2024-02-28T21:46:28.8566667+00:00

WOW!! This editor is EXTREMELY IRRITATING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'll try Markdown instead:

using Azure.Core.Diagnostics; using Azure.Identity; using Azure.Security.KeyVault.Secrets; namespace key_vault_console_app { internal class Program { static async Task Main(string[] args) { const string secretName = "SampleSecretName"; var keyVaultName = "XXXXXX"; var kvUri = $"https://{keyVaultName}.vault.azure.net"; string lastPlace = string.Empty; // Setup a listener to monitor logged events. using AzureEventSourceListener listener = AzureEventSourceListener.CreateConsoleLogger(); DefaultAzureCredentialOptions options = new DefaultAzureCredentialOptions() { Diagnostics = { LoggedHeaderNames = { "x-ms-request-id" }, LoggedQueryParameters = { "api-version" }, IsLoggingContentEnabled = true } }; try { // Here's the code to read one of my keys. lastPlace = "Create SecretClient"; var client = new SecretClient(new Uri(kvUri), new DefaultAzureCredential()); const string otherSecretName = "ConsoleConnectionString"; lastPlace = "Trying to Retrieve secret"; Console.WriteLine($"Retrieving your secret from {keyVaultName}."); var secret = await client.GetSecretAsync(otherSecretName); Console.WriteLine($"Your secret is '{secret.Value.Value}'."); Console.WriteLine(" done."); } catch (Exception ex) { await Console.Out.WriteLineAsync($"Trying to {lastPlace}"); await Console.Out.WriteLineAsync(ReportExceptions.ReportThisException(ex)); return; } } } }

Answer 1

Hi @Falanga, Rod, DOH , sorry about the editor. Our team is working on a fix.

The DefaultAzureCredential class is designed to work with both Azure RBAC and Key Vault access policy. It tries multiple authentication methods in a certain order, and it falls back to the next method if the previous one fails. The authentication methods include environment variables, managed identity, Visual Studio, Azure CLI, and interactive browser login.

The error message "401 Unauthorized" usually indicates that the client is not authorized to access the Key Vault. This can happen if the client does not have the correct access policy or RBAC role assigned to it. Can you please check these troubleshooting steps and let me know if they resolve your issue?

Check the access policy of the Key Vault to ensure that the client has the correct permissions to access the secrets. You can use the Azure portal or Azure CLI to check the access policy.
Check the RBAC role of the client to ensure that it has the correct permissions to access the Key Vault. You can use the Azure portal or Azure CLI to check the RBAC role.
Check the logs of the Key Vault to see if there are any error messages or warnings related to the client's access. You can use the Azure portal or Azure CLI to view the logs.
Check the network connectivity between the client and the Key Vault to ensure that there are no firewall or network issues.
Try to use a different authentication method with the DefaultAzureCredential class to see if it makes any difference. For example, you can try to use managed identity or Azure CLI instead of environment variables.

Please let me know if you have any questions and I can help you further.

If this answer helps you please mark "Accept Answer" so other users can reference it.

Thank you,

James

Answer 2

Hello @Falanga, Rod, DOH

The DefaultAzureCredential is designed to simplify Azure SDK authentication. It attempts to authenticate via multiple methods, and it’s suitable for most scenarios where the application is intended to run in the Azure environment.

However, you’re correct that the DefaultAzureCredential and the Key Vault access policy serve different purposes:

The DefaultAzureCredential is part of the Azure Identity library that provides a set of Azure Active Directory token credentials. It’s used to authenticate the client application with Azure services.

The Key Vault access policy is a mechanism to control access to the Azure Key Vault. It determines what operations a service principal (an Azure AD object) can perform on the Key Vault.

If you’re using Key Vault access policies to control access to your Key Vault, you need to ensure that the service principal being used by your application (which is determined by the DefaultAzureCredential) has the appropriate access policy set on the Key Vault.

If you’re getting an error on the client.GetSecretAsync line, it’s likely because the service principal doesn’t have the get permission on the Key Vault access policy. You can check and modify the access policies in the Azure portal.

If this information provided here helps solve your issue, please tag this as answered, so it helps further community readers, who may have similar questions.

Falanga, Rod, DOH 245 Reputation points

2024-03-01T20:00:36.43+00:00

Hi @Pinaki, I believe the problem, or at least part of the problem, is I haven't registered this new console app with Azure. I had hoped to work on that today, but am fighting a fire instead.

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Getting an Azure-Core error 401 Unauthorized message

2 answers

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